Oil futures down on U.S. stockpile report, Brexit concern
Oil prices fell on Thursday, heading for a sixth session of declines, following a lower-than-expected draw on U.S. stockpiles and amid worries Britain might leave the European Union (EU).
Front-month U.S. crude futures were down 53 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $47.48 a barrel at 0637 GMT.
Brent crude was 49 cents, or 1 percent, lower at $48.48 a barrel.
Oil prices have fallen every day after June 8, losing about 8 percent of their value.
Last week, Brent was at the highest this year, touching almost $53 a barrel, while U.S. crude was near $52 after supply disruptions from producers including Nigeria and Canada.
With a week to go before Britain votes on leaving the EU, oil and other markets remain in thrall to opinion polls, which are increasingly showing those supporting an exit are in the majority.
“The market is going to be soft until next week. The fear is that if the British actually decide to leave the EU there may be some sort of contagion,” said Avtar Sandu, senior commodities manager at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
“The rules for exit from the EU are not very clear. There are a lot of question marks over the economic consequences,” he said.
U.S. crude stocks also fell last week but the decline was much smaller than anticipated, while gasoline stocks decreased sharply.
Crude inventories fell by 933,000 barrels in the last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported, less than half the 2.3 million barrel decrease expected by analysts.
The U.S. Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that it still plans two U.S. rate hikes this year despite slower growth expectations, also hitting the oil market.
Source: Reuters
